Rural Education Achievement Program: Small, Rural School Achievement Program and Rural and Low-Income School Program Application

U.S. Department of Education

Office of Elementary and Secondary Education

Rural, Insular, and Native Achievement Programs Division

Washington, D.C. 20202

Form 1

Fiscal Year 2023

Information for Rural and Low-Income School Program and Small, Rural School Achievement Program Eligibility

ALNs 84.358A, 84.358B, and 84.358C

Dated Material - Open Immediately

Closing Date:

Approved OMB Number: 1810-0646

Expiration Date:

Paperwork Burden Statement

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 1810-0646. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 38 hours per response, including time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. The obligation to respond to this collection is required to obtain or retain benefit, per Part B of Title V of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), reauthorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), signed into law in December 2015. If you have comments or concerns regarding the status of your individual submission of this form, please contact the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Rural Education Achievement Program at [email protected] or 202-401-0039 directly. [Note: Please do not return the completed form to this address.]

Rural and Low-Income School (RLIS) Data Submission Procedures

Data Transmittal Instructions

MAX.gov Summary: The Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP) office uses MAX.gov, the Office of Management and Budget sponsored government-wide suite of advanced collaboration, information sharing, data collection, publishing, business intelligence and authentication tools and services to collect data from State educational agencies (SEAs) in order to determine program eligibility and allocation amounts. SEA contacts establish and maintain MAX.gov access credentials and submit local educational agency (LEA) data via MAX Community.

RLIS Application Items

Item 1: Average Daily Attendance – Results of the census conducted to determine the number of students in average daily attendance in kindergarten through grade 12 at the schools served by each LEA. The census must be conducted not earlier than the start of the school year and not later than December 1. Average daily attendance (ADA) from the census conducted during the school year preceding the Federal fiscal year (FY) in which the data are collected is used to calculate allocation amounts for the upcoming awards (e.g., school year 2021-2022 ADA is collected in the Fall of 2022 and determines FY 2023 awards (awards made in July 2023)). The Annual Average Daily Attendance Census Determination is described in Part B, Subpart 3, section 5231 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA):

‘‘SEC. 5231. ANNUAL AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE DETERMINATION.

‘‘(a) CENSUS DETERMINATION.— Each local educational agency desiring a grant under section 5212 and each local educational agency or specially qualified agency desiring a grant under subpart 2 shall —

‘‘(1) not later than December 1 of each year, conduct a census to determine the number of students in average daily attendance in kindergarten through grade 12 at the schools served by the agency; and

‘‘(2) not later than March 1 of each year, submit the number described in paragraph (1) to the Secretary (and to the State educational agency, in the case of a local educational agency seeking a grant under subpart (2)).

Item 2: Funds Provided Under Part A of Title II – For each LEA, enter the total amount of funds received through Title II, Part A of the ESEA during the school year preceding the fiscal year during which data are collected. In other words, for the FY 2023 REAP awards to be made in July 2023, the Department will use SY 2021-2022 LEA award amounts, which were made out of an SEA’s FY 2021 Title II, Part A allocation. If an LEA did not receive Title II, Part A funding, the allocation for that LEA should be left blank.

Item 3: Funds Provided Under Part A of Title IV – For each LEA, enter the total amount of funds received through Title IV, Part A of the ESEA during the school year preceding the fiscal year during which data are collected. In other words, for the FY 2023 REAP awards to be made in July 2023, the Department will use SY 2021-2022 LEA award amounts, which were awards made out of an SEA’s FY 2021 Title IV, Part A allocation. If an LEA did not receive Title IV, Part A funding, the allocation for that LEA should be left blank.

Item 4: State-derived SAIPE Equivalent Poverty Data – In accordance with section 5221(b)(1) of the ESEA, the Department is required to use the Census Bureau’s Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE) data to determine an LEA’s low-income eligibility. When available, SAIPE data must be used to determine RLIS eligibility. The Department will use the most current SAIPE data available to determine an LEA’s eligibility.

For an LEA for which current SAIPE data are unavailable, a State may submit the same State-derived poverty data used to determine LEA allocations under Part A of Title I of the ESEA in the most recent school year (e.g., for FY 2023 awards, when SAIPE data are not available, a State may submit SAIPE equivalent poverty data that it used to make its allocations under Title I, Part A for the most recent school year). State submitted SAIPE equivalent poverty data will only be accepted for an LEA for which SAIPE data are unavailable (i.e., an LEA with the “MISSING” indicator in the REAP Master Eligibility Spreadsheet).

Item 5: State Rural Definition – For an LEA that is located in an area defined as rural by a governmental agency of the State, the SEA must submit the State definition of rural for the purposes of REAP. Specifically, if there is an applicable definition of rural by a governmental agency of the State, the SEA must provide the following information:

1. The identity of the State governmental agency that established the definition;

2. A copy of the rural definition; and

3. The SEA’s concurrence that the use of the definition and the applicable list of LEAs is accurate for the Small, Rural School Achievement (SRSA) or RLIS program.

Item 6: Primary LEA Contact – Enter the name, email address, and phone number of an official for each SRSA-eligible LEA who can serve as the primary point of contact on matters involving the SRSA application, including serving as the authorized representative. The authorized representative is the legally responsible person for the SRSA grant and will be the primary point of contact. The authorized representative will receive communication from the G5.gov system and the U.S. Department of Education and receive the Grant Award Notification (GAN).

Item 7: Secondary LEA Contact – Enter the name, email address, and phone number of an official for each SRSA eligible LEA who can serve as the secondary point of contact on matters involving the SRSA application. The LEA secondary contact is an additional point of contact between the LEA and the U.S. Department of Education. Both the authorized representative and the secondary contact will receive the GAN, communication emails from the G5.gov system, and can request access to draw down SRSA funds from G5.gov

Item 8: Operational Status – Confirm the operational status of each LEA, including any current or planned change in an LEA’s operational status (e.g., LEA closure, merger, separation, etc.) during the period of the award (e.g., for FY 2023 awards, the period would be July 1, 2023, to September 30, 2025).

Item 9: LEA and School Virtual Designation – Confirm the virtual designation of an LEA by indicating if the LEA is fully virtual or if one or more schools within the LEA are fully virtual. Schools that are full virtual centers (i.e., all instruction offered by the school is virtual, although students and teachers may meet in person for field trips, school-sponsored social events or assessment purposes; all students receive all instruction virtually) are ineligible to generate or benefit from REAP funding. In order to ensure that funds are not generated by or obligated for full virtual students, the ADA generated by any virtual school within an LEA must be excluded from the total ADA for the LEA. Note that primarily virtual schools (i.e., the school’s major purpose is to provide virtual instruction to students, but some traditional classroom instruction is also provided; most students receive all instruction virtually), supplemental virtual schools (i.e., instruction is directed by teachers in a traditional classroom setting and virtual instruction supplements face-to-face instruction by teachers; students vary in the extent to which their instruction is virtual), and non-virtual schools (the school does not offer any virtual instruction; no students receive any virtual instruction) are included in the ADA for eligibility determination.

Item 10: ADA Collection Process – Provide the date or date range during which a census was conducted for the purposes of REAP ADA data collection, including the month(s) and year (e.g., August-October 2022). The census must be conducted not earlier than the start of the school year and not later than December 1.

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